Finding time to refresh your energy, keep in touch with your core values, and deepen your experience of your moments is always time well spent. And creating and sustaining personal rituals is a tried and true pathway to doing this.

Anything that causes us to pause and contemplate, I think, offers an opportunity to connect with strong time – with the deepest experience of a moment. Strong time is not about duration but about depth. Getting to strong time often involves some form of tradition or ritual – and these can be family rituals, rituals involving religious traditions, or simple, personal practices, like meditation, that connect you with your heart and the deepest parts of your life.

As we’ve explored rituals here, we’ve contrasted them with routines, noting that “Routines can often feel rushed or monotonous – or both! They get you through one part of the day on your way to the next chapter.”

I was struck, yesterday, though, when a reader mentioned that she was happy to be returning to her normal routine after the holidays. As I reflected on that statement, I realized that it may be helpful to think of routine as a part of ritual, rather than something different.

You might view routine as the raw material for ritual. Routine is the foundation that makes ritual possible.

There’s a saying, often attributed to Woody Allen that states: “90% of life is just showing up.”

I think it applies in this case. In order to be present for the element of depth that ritual offers, you must “show up.”

Holidays and vacations, for all the richness they give us, can also be disruptive to routines that sustain us. So it can be very refreshing to return to routine.

Indeed, it’s vital to re-establish and maintain routines, as they offer you a beginning place for your deepening into ritual … and into Strong Time.

… and are you interested in learning more about the Heart-Based Path as you explore ways to deepen, enhance and energize your relationship with time?

I invite you to explore Secrets of Heart-Based Time Management – my chapter in the book I co-authored – Stepping Stones to Success! In it I share my proven system for exploring and harnessing the power of your mind, your body and your spirit to help you deepen your experience of time and of your life.

As you work with the ideas I offer, you’ll explore your patterns, clarify your values, identify and prioritize your goals … and create your path for achieving them. You can give yourself the gift of this wonderful resource today, and get started on your journey toward success, Stepping Stone by Stepping Stone …just click this link to get the details!